Waiver Wire: Eagles QB Foles among top fantasy pickups

{eot}

TSN.ca Staff11/5/2013 11:37:17 AM

Text Size

Each week, we will run down the top waiver wire pickups with a focus on the coming week and rest of the season.

QUARTERBACKS

Nick Foles (at Green Bay)Last week: 22/28, 406 yards, 7 TDsFoles, a now record-tying NFL QB thanks to his seven touchdown performance against the Oakland Raiders in Week 9, is owned by only a quarter of teams. That's a lot of needy teams that missed out on his 40+ point performance. The former third-rounder has been impressive all year long in spot duty for the injured Michael Vick and is all but guaranteed to be the Eagles' starter the rest of the year. He's not going to throw seven touchdowns every week but he could be a borderline QB1, something almost impossible to find on the waiver wire this late in the season.

EJ Manuel (at Pittsburgh)Last week: InjuredManuel was given the green light to return to action with the Bills on Monday and with that comes the green light to be picked up again by fantasy teams. Prior to Manuel's knee injury, the rookie was averaging 13 points per game and, if his progression with a decent looking Bills offence continues throughout the year, he's worth adding, especially if you need a bye week fill-in over the next couple weeks.

Case Keenum (at Cardinals)Last week: 20/34, 350 yards, 3 TDsKeenum was outstanding in his debut for the Texans and gave fans in Houston, after too much of Matt Schaub in recent years, hope for the future. The young, undrafted free agent doesn't appear to be afraid of taking chances and with a premier receiver like Andre Johnson on the other end of his passes, that could be a good thing. Keenum is a gunslinger and, while I wouldn't be surprised to see his interception totals spike in coming weeks, he should be always be good for healthy yardage totals.

Jason Campbell (Bye)Last week: 23/35, 262 yards, 3 TDsAfter years of having nothing go right in Cleveland, nothing can seemingly go wrong for the Browns this year. It's still likely not enough to get the Browns in the playoffs, but their players can benefit fantasy teams with some big weeks. Jason Campbell, the third quarterback to start a game for Cleveland, had a huge game against the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. The veteran hurt his ribs in Week 9 but should be fine when the Browns return from their bye week against the Cincinnati Bengals. If you've got room on your bench, Campbell could be worth an add.

Others: Kellen Clemons (at Colts), Christian Ponder (vs Redskins)

RUNNING BACKS

Andre Brown (vs Raiders)Last week: InjuredBrown confirmed on Monday that he'll be returning from the IR designated to return to make his season debut in Week 10, and with it the Giants hope their running back nightmare of 2013 is over. While it's unlikely Brown will be the solution to all the Giants' rushing problems, he could be for a needy fantasy team. It's hard to tell how effective Brown will be but he should get the most touches out of New York's backfield and that alone is worth a couple FAAB dollars.

Donald Brown (vs Rams)Last week: 6 carries, 49 yardsBrown is just the second most owned running back in the Colts' backfield (by a longshot behind Trent Richardson) but he shouldn't be. Since Richardson's acquisition Brown has proven to be the more effective back. While the two are likely looking at a timeshare in the backfield the rest of the way, Brown is the third-down back, lending to more passing opportunities. The former first-rounder was held to just six carries and 49 yards on Sunday Night but that was more because Indy was engaged in an aerial battle with the Texans; his carries should increase in coming weeks.

Rashad Jennings (at Giants)Last week: 15 carries, 102 yards, 7 catches, 74 yards, 1 TDFor the second time this year, and seemingly millionth time in his career, Darren McFadden left a game with an injury for the Raiders. Jennings stepped in and stepped up, accumulating 176 total yards in Oakland's blowout loss to the Eagles. If McFadden's injury keeps him out in Week 10, the Raiders will have no problem feeding Jennings the rock against the Raiders. The former Jaguars backup has been the team's best back even when McFadden is healthy.

Ben Tate (at Cardinals)Last week: 22 carries, 81 yardsThis suggestion is contingent on Arian Foster's injury status for Week 10 but since we likely won't know that until waiver bids are due, err on the side of caution and look to grab Tate. What we do know is that if Tate gets the start for an injured Foster, he's done enough over the past couple seasons to prove he's a decent RB2 if given a starters' workload.

Others: Jonathan Stewart (at 49ers), Daniel Thomas (at Buccaneers)

WIDE RECEIVERS

Riley Cooper (at Packers)Last week: 5 catches, 139 yards, 3 TDsAfter his early season controversy, it seems Cooper and the Eagles can coexist. After weeks of putting up below average fantasy scores, Cooper exploded in the Eagles' rout of the Raiders. Cooper won't score three TDs every week but if the chemistry he appeared to have with likely new full-time starter Nick Foles continues to manifest, he'll be an intriguing WR3/flex option in Philadelphia.

Marlon Brown (vs Bengals)Last week: 5 catches, 54 yards, 2 TDsThe undrafted free agent had a big Week 9 against the Browns, and looks to be working his way towards more targets in the Ravens' offence. Brown is nothing more than a bye week fill-in at the moment – through nine weeks he's averaging only about five points per week but his nine Week 9 targets were a team high, suggesting Joe Flacco could look to the young receiver more in the second half of the season.

Others: Kris Durham (at Bears), Nate Washington (vs Jaguars)

TIGHT ENDS

Tim Wright (vs Dolphins)Last week: 4 catches, 58 yards, 1 TDWright could be an interesting add at the tight end position. The undrafted free agent is averaging six targets in his six games this season and while that has translated to just an average of 32 yards per game, if he can find the end zone on a more consistent basis – like he did last week in the Bucs' near upset of the Seahawks – he's worth a flyer. Wright could have some chemistry with Tampa's rookie QB Mike Glennon which would certainly help his fantasy stock.